On March 19, the Ithaca College men’s ultimate Frisbee club became the most recent team to bring a trophy back to South Hill. The club, also known as Nawshus Ultimate, won the High Tide Tournament Saturday in Brunswick, Ga.
The club competed in pool play for the first two days of the tournament before being reseeded for single elimination competition. During the first two days, the club went 5–1, with its only loss coming in an 11–10 game against Goucher College. In the championship match against the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, the club emerged with a 13–12 win and its first High Tide tournament title.
Sports Editor Andrew Weiser sat down with the club’s captain and senior Chris Giblin to talk about the team’s title run and what it’s setting its sights on next.
Andrew Weiser: What was the club’s practice schedule during the year and leading up to the High Tide tournament?
Chris Giblin: During the winter months, we typically have one or two times in the gym each week, and I try to supplement that with two or three workouts each week so that we’re constantly staying in shape.
AW: After going 7–1 to reach the championship, how did the club perform in the title game?
CG: We just came out so flat in the finals. We started terribly and were dropping easy passes, and we just fell behind 5–0 right off the bat. The other team wasn’t even playing particularly well; they were basically just exploiting our mistakes. We were just giving them the game. So after it was 5–0, I called a time-out, and we just took a breather. I was like, “We’ve been playing great ultimate; let’s just get it together and play like I know we can.”
AW: Did the club’s play change after the time-out?
CG: We ended up coming back to tie it at six after that time-out. I’m not a speech master, but whatever I said changed in the players’ minds. I guess the time-out did help. The rest of the game was pretty close, and we ended up winning 13–12.
AW: How did it feel to win the tournament for the first time?
CG: It was utter jubilation; I’ve never been a part of anything like it. After we won, the team was so happy, and we were running around tackling each other.
AW: How does the championship experience factor into members’ mind-sets as they prepare for the Nut Buster Tournament on Saturday and Sunday in Indiana, Pa.?
CG: This was a huge boost in morale, and I’m pretty much certain no one is going to be, “OK, we won this tournament, the season is over.” Everyone is going to be, “Yes, we won this tournament; let’s build off it. I love the feeling of this success, let’s go win sectionals.” It’s just adding fuel to the fire.
